Skylines and Stars
by SuperGirI
Summary: Frankie's birthday party can't help but make Maura realize how much she seeks romance. More particularly, she seeks romance with Jane.
1. Chapter 1

The loud jazz music from the live band filled the air even as Jane stepped outside of the two double French doors. The bite of the cold chill that hit her caught her by surprise as she continued onto the small elevated patio. In the distance, she could hear Frankie laughter at another one of Tommy's jokes. Frankie's birthday has been more than a success; it was one of the best nights of his life. The suite had beautiful craftsmanship's, from the crown moldings to the marble floors. Jane made her way over to Maura who was admiring the Boston skyline. Her heel dangled from the back of her right foot as she leaned over the edge with her wine glass in hand.

"I hope you're not studying the city to find out which buildings need to reduce their pollution."

A small laugh escaped Maura's mouth before she responded. Jane came to the left side of her and leaned over the edge as well. She set her glass of wine between them.

"No, just admiring the view."

Maura held a content, emotionless face.

"You alright out here? It's a little chilly."

"Yes, I'm fine. "

"It's cold; do you want to head back in?"

"Not yet." Maura finally turned to face Jane to analyze her reaction. Jane bit her lip as she tried to gage Maura's mood.

"Maur, you alright? What's going on?" Jane turned her body and opened up more towards the doctor.

The ME took a small breath, and explained. "Nothing, it's just- nights like this. You know, I wish I had someone to share them with."

The detective was taken aback for a second, realizing that she wasn't necessarily enough, or simply Maura had forgotten.

"Well, you always have me. You may be an Isles, but you have plenty of Rizzolis to go around."

"Yes, but I don't get to take a Rizzoli back to my hotel room tonight." Maura said with a small bite. Jane's brain began to analyze what exactly that statement could mean until she stopped herself from going too deep with the idea.

"Well, if you need to get laid, I'm sure there are plenty of suitors available in the room behind us." Jane motioned with her thumb pointing behind her. She was trying to shrink the situation at hand by turning it into a simple "sex thing".

"That's not what I mean, I need the romance." Maura turned her body to completely face Jane. The doctor continued her statement.

"I need to be able to wake up next to them. I need to be able to share views like **this** with them, and kiss them under the stars." Maura began motioning with her hand to the skyline. "I need to be able to do the most mundane task with them and still have excitement for it because I'm doing it with them."

It did not escape Jane that Maura was playing the pronoun game, but she simply let it slide as a coincidence. The detective swallowed before responding. She placed her hand over Maura's whose was on the ledge.

"I know it's not everything you want, but I think our friendship is special. I mean, I enjoy going to the post office with you. If that's not saying something…" Both women began to laugh at that statement. The ME finished giggling as she responded. She placed her other hand on Jane's bicep, nudging her slightly for her smart ass response.

"Yes, but you don't kiss me good morning or good night." Maura trailed off and smiled.

"I didn't realize that's what you wanted!" Jane continued to jest.

Maura's laughter stopped. "You didn't?" She looked at Jane surprised. The detective's eyes only widened further then the doctor's.

"What?" Jane could hardly think of a response. Maura's implications were past the borders of friendly.

"You never thought I wanted to kiss you?"

"You've wanted to kiss me?"

Maura was uncertain how much she should reveal to Jane at this point. She had thrown down the implications on the table and Jane has done nothing to reveal her feelings toward those suggestions.

Jane shifted closer, pushing her arm further along the ledge. She was incredibly close to the doctor, nearly brushing up against her.

"Maura, I…I never really-I

Maura's eyes began to shift downwards, as she felt that the response of Jane was a negative one for which she hoped differently. The detective watched the doctor's face turn sour.

"No! Maura, I..no. Like, I've wanted-" Jane's arm pushed the wine glass over the edge of the balcony, only for both of them to jump up at the sound of the glass breaking.

"Shit!" Jane exclaimed.

They both peered over the edge to see the shattered glass by the bottom of the hotel steps. Luckily, the doorman heard the shatter and had already begun cleaning it.

"Thank you!" Both Maura and Jane yelled in unison. The doorman looked up and nodded. Maura let a small chuckle escape her mouth.

"Why are you laughing?" Jane asked, feeling slightly insecure, but letting a giggle escape her lips as well.

"Nothing, you were saying?" Maura straightened up and faced Jane. Jane's arm lay on the edge again, and Maura scooted closer into her, making it difficult for the detective to breathe.

"I, it's not that I haven't thought that you-I just-"

Both were startled again by someone hollering. Jane immediately pulled herself away from Maura, to hide their intimate stance. It was Tommy's voice.

"Jane, Maura! We're doing cake!"

Jane had meant to tell Maura that she had thought Maura had wanted to kiss her. That she wanted to kiss her too. That she thought they shared something special. That sometimes though, she felt like it was all in her head; wishful thinking.

Both ladies pulled back further.

"We're coming!" Jane shouted back.

"Can we finish this later tonight?" Maura asked genuinely.

Jane just nodded. Both ladies headed back inside to wish Frankie a happy birthday.

**A/N An idea occurred to me tonight, and I figured it'd be nice of me to share it with all of you. **** I always enjoy a romantic Rizzles. I hope you enjoy. Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

The lights in the room were dimmed as everyone had gathered around. Maura and Jane stood behind Angela who was sitting to the right of Frankie. The flicker of the candles kept cascading over Jane's face causing Maura to look over to steal a glance of her. They all sang in unison. Jane could feel Maura's stare, but the previous conversation had caused her to have a somewhat rattled stomach which she still hasn't interpreted as a good or bad feeling. The detective awkwardly shifted feet for a moment as the final line of the song was sang, causing her hand to brush against the doctor's. The candle light was blown out, and the only thing Jane could see was the side of Maura's face from the moonlight. Maura turned her head to catch Jane's eyes as the lights were flicked on; they both adverted their eyes.

"Time for my baby boy to cut his cake!" Angela wailed.

"Ma! Quit callin' me that." Frankie whined.

"Oh, my boy is growing up." Angela came to the side of Frankie and pinched the cheek closest to her. Frankie slapped away her hands. Tommy, Jane and Maura all shared a laugh at Frankie's expense. The rest of the guests had continued to mingle amongst themselves.

Jane eventually grabbed a piece of cake from the table. The ME was having trouble getting her own slice as all the guests had covered the table. Jane saw Maura struggle and couldn't help but grin at the display. She wandered over to Maura and nudged her slightly with her elbow.

"Here, we can share." The detective offered.

"Are you sure?" Maura asked hesitantly.

"Mmhm." Jane nodded and started to walk over to one of the love seats, in the sitting room entrance. Both women sat down close to each other. Jane handed Maura the plate with the plastic fork.

"I'll say it again even though I sound like a broken record. You really didn't have to do all of this Maura. We would have been fine at your place with a couple of beers." Jane spoke quietly.

"I know. I wanted to do it though. I wanted to do something special for him." Maura licked her lips as she spoke, it did not go unnoticed. Jane stuck her finger into the side of the cake to scoop a piece of the frosting into her mouth. Maura's eyes darted over to Jane's face; scolding her like a child with her stare. Jane just smiled back lightheartedly.

"Don't make me send you to your room." Maura threatened.

"I thought I was going to your room?" Jane joked.

"Are you?" Maura's smile radiated from her body. Jane realized she just offered to stay in Maura's room tonight. She was intending to stay the night in the suite that Frankie's party was held in, seeing how there were multiple bedrooms. Her heart began to pound harder. She realized that there was no escaping their conversation tonight. Her mind began to wander.

Jane decided to just nod her head.

Eventually the night continued, and the guests slowly started to wander off back to their homes. Each of them parting with their individual goodbyes to the Rizzoli's and thanking Maura for putting the whole party together. By the time the clock struck one AM, Angela, Maura, Jane and Tommy stayed in the kitchen piling the dirty paper plates into a giant garbage bag. Regardless or not if a maid was coming tomorrow morning, each of them felt it would be rude to leave an extravagant mess in the suite.

"Frankie had a very nice night tonight. Did you see that blonde?" Tommy spoke up.

"Yeah. I mean, who was that girl? Was that the girl he's been talking about? What's her name, Louanne?" Jane began to question.

"Oh, enough you two. I don't want to hear anything more about Frankie and his new girlfriend. That's inappropriate for you two to be gossiping." Angela quipped up.

All Jane, Maura and Tommy stopped their task at hand and stared at Angela, bewildered.

"What? I don't gossip." Angela explained.

The three of them started to burst out in laughter.

"What? I don't!" Angela began to whine slightly.

As they gathered the last bit of pieces of trash, they all announced that it was time for bed. Tommy kissed the three ladies on the cheek and said goodnight to each before retreating back to his bedroom. Angela kissed both Maura and Jane goodnight before heading back to her home. She had not had anything to drink that night and longed to return to the comfort of her own bed. As Angela exited the suite's room, both Maura and Jane stared at each other.

"So, ready for bed?" Jane chippered.

"Yes. I'm ready to head back to my room." Maura answered more specifically.

Maura took the lead in exiting the suite room, and making a right down to the end of the hall. Jane slowly followed Maura. Both ladies were exhausted from the night's events, and having trouble keeping their eyes open. Maura quickly dressed into a pajama set and completed her nightly routine before heading back out into the bedroom area. Regardless of whether or not how long their conversation was, she was eager to head to bed. Jane took over the bathroom after Maura and put on some cotton shorts with a black tank top. She washed her face and stared in the mirror, only to catch the eyes of Maura who was staring at her as she was getting ready. When Maura saw that the detective had noticed her stare, she quickly averted her eyes back to the TV screen as a documentary on renewable resources played in the background. The idea of catching the doctor staring at her put butterflies in Jane's stomach.

Jane slowly made her way over to the bed where Maura was sitting. She broke the silence slowly, unsure of if this conversation was truly beginning or not.

"We've had a long night, hmm?"

"Yes, I think it was quite eventful, and not only for Frankie."

"I agree."

They both shared a few seconds of silence before the doctor spoke again.

"Jane, do you think it's possible to have this conversation tomorrow? I'm exhausted."

"That's not a problem." The detective responded.

Jane felt slightly happy to not dive into a deep conversation tonight, and slightly anxious that the truth of their friendship has still been yet to unfold. Both ladies sunk into the pillows of their bed. Maura turned the TV off. Maura began to wonder what exactly she could get away with right now. Everything was completely ambiguous and there were no social guidelines to follow. They both had revealed in implications and in sentences that there is more to their relationship then what they have been acting out on. She heard Jane's breath even out eventually as the minutes ticked by. Slowly, she pushed her body closer to Jane's, and threw her leg and arm around her, cuddling into her. Jane was not asleep.

**A/N Hey guys, I know there's not a whole lot of crazy development going on, but this story is going to go at it's own place. On another note, I wrote this a little tipsy, so please ignore grammar/spelling errors if there are any (which I'm sure there are). I'll edit again soon. I don't think it's too dreadful to read trough. Hope you are all doing well. I'm off to a concert! Adios amigas.**


	3. Chapter 3

Jane felt the urge to flutter her eyes open as she realized Maura was cuddling into her. She understood that Maura could possibly be awake; waiting to gauge her reaction, so she kept her eyes shut and tried to calm her expression. She let a small smile show. Maura's eyes were shut regardless and she eventually fell asleep. Although Jane's body was completely relaxed, her head began to buzz. It was difficult to get her brain to settle down. Hearing Maura's small murmurs in her slumber eventually settled Jane's heart and brain.

The detective woke up at forty-five minutes past five. The doctor would be getting up very shortly from now. Luckily enough Jane had remembered last night to bring her overnight bag into Maura's room. She walked on the cold tile into the bathroom and undressed while getting ready to enter the shower as the water heated up. She entered and began her usual routine. A slightly hung over doctor slowly dragged out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom disregarding the fact that her room occupied two at this moment in time. She opened the door absentmindedly, and the noise from the water couldn't help but bring her eyes to the attention of the glass shower case. As if right on cue, Jane was turning around to face the door entry.

"Maura!" Jane wailed.

The detective quickly covered her chest and turned around. Unfortunately, the idea that seemed smart at the time only caused the doctor to surreptitiously admire the detective further.

"I'm sorry Jane. I-I completely had forgotten you were in here still."

"Maura get out!"

"Jane, have you been working out your hamstrings more frequently? They are incredibly tone."

"No, Maura, you probably just haven't seen me naked! Now get out!" Jane spat back in that. Jane's cheeks were burning red. She had never felt uncomfortable naked in the presence of most people close to her, however this situation felt differently.

"Okay. Okay. Cranky shirts." The doctor turned around and exited the door. She slowly closed it and couldn't help but bite back the smile that invaded her face.

Maura turned on the morning news while patiently waiting for the detective to finish her shower. She sat on the edge of the bed while opening one of the small overpriced water bottles hotels stock in the hopes of moments like these. Five minutes have passed until Jane eventually emerged from the bathroom. She had wrapped around her the white hotel robe stocked in the bathroom cabinets.

Jane, still slightly irritated by being the attention of Maura's eyes earlier, spoke out; speaking slowly.

"The bathroom is unoccupied now. You are FREE to use it."

However, the doctor was not in the mood to deal with Jane's antics. "For the record, you left the door unlocked."

"What do you mean, like I purposely left it unlocked? Did you think I wanted you to come in or something?" Jane's voice grew.

"I am just stating it was unlocked."

"How would YOU feel if I walked in on you in the shower?"

Maura's head slightly throbbed. "If we're going to be honest with each other, I would predict that I would enjoy it."

Jane stared down at the floor quickly, at a loss for words, also feeling inferior to the doctor's blatant honesty. Maura slowly got up from the bed, as she was entering the bathroom, she spat out;

"For the record, you were the only one uncomfortable in there." Maura closed the door, and Jane made note that there was no "lock" sound from the door. Jane eventually heard the shower start and decided it was safe to change into her clothes.

She sat back into the bed and stared at the television, not particularly listening to any part of the noise nor paying attention to the screen. She dared herself three times before giving up about going to walk in on Maura to see if she would hold true to her statement from earlier. This ongoing argument in her head only proved how cowardly she could be sometimes. She studied the room and saw a radio. She shut off the TV and walked over the radio turning it onto the station. It was rather loud, fortunately, Jane knew that these rooms were insulated well and did not worry about waking the other rooms. The speakers played slow melodic music. She saw the sun eventually peaking over the city's skyline again. The windowsill has a small ledge in front of it. She moved herself to sit on top of it, scrunching up her knees and resting her back against the side. She sat admiring the beautiful colors that filled the sky. Ten minutes had passed, and Maura slowly emerged from the shower. The noise from the speakers drowned out Maura's movements. Jane's eyes stayed stuck to the skyline. The doctor's eyes stayed stuck on Jane. Normally she would chastise the detective for listening to the music so loudly, but in this moment of peacefulness it felt unnecessary. The detective eventually felt the ME's eyes on her and turned slowly.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Maura could only nod to the double meaning she felt in that statement. She walked up slowly next to Jane in her white bathrobe and stared out with her. Another ten minutes had passed in silence. Jane turned her head around and spoke,

"We should get breakfast."

Maura again could only nod because of her loss of words. Eventually Maura had finished getting ready in the bathroom. The pair finally left down to the diner around the corner at 7:30am. They were both up abnormally early, for their day off. They enjoyed breakfast together, silently sneaking glances. Neither wanted to be caught, but both loved the feeling of catching the other. In this moment of uncertainty, it would normally have felt completely confused and flustered with one another, but both felt oddly content in this situation, because in a sense it meant everything was possible.

**A/N Hey guys, sorry about the delayed updating. I got a little busy with life nonsense. Anyways, Kittgetawayfromtheblanket, you cracked me up! Loved your review. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I through in a little humor for funsies. I hope you all had a good weekend, and for Americans Labor day weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4

The two had finished breakfast and eventually parted ways to complete their own agenda of errands. They agreed to meet back up later at Maura's for Sunday dinner. Regardless that Angela had already spent the whole previous night up, working on Frankie's party; she would not miss a family dinner for the world.

Jane sat in the living room, folding laundry absentmindedly while some infomercial played in the background. Jo Friday sat on the couch and Jane on the floor with her back up against it. Her phone buzzed indicating she had a text message. Jo Friday barked at the noise twice before realizing that it was not a robot monster that was going to eat her dog food. Jane reached for it.

Maura: Would you like to go out for drinks after dinner tonight?

Jane analyzed any meanings that could possibly be in that statement before realizing that it is very likely she is going delusional while doing so.

Jane: Sure, just the two of us?

Maura smiled. She was half hoping that by Jane asking that statement was because she preferred it that way.

Maura: Yes, dress 'dressy-casual' please.

Jane: What's wrong with the way I dress?

Maura: How much time do you have?

Jane actually chuckled out loud.

Jane: Very funny.

Jane: See you later.

Jane's mind grew more flustered. There was a notepad and pen on the coffee table. She reached for it and tore of the grocery list on the first page and set it to the side. She labeled the top of it "Op. MLM?" She wrote down a list of numbers per 4 lines on the page and began to fill it out. For every line she wrote, she told herself to come up with the counterargument.

She said she wanted to kiss me

Explorative?

She always looks at me weird

Analyst?

She said she liked seeing me naked She was comfortable seeing me naked

She's a doctor

She wouldn't care if I saw her naked

She's…comfortable

She said she wants to talk about it

She hasn't

Why

She's waiting for you?

**She** wanted to talk about it….

Jane's phone buzzed again.

Maura: : - )

She sends me smiley texts

Affectionate?

To other people?

Jane took a break and continued her laundry. Eventually completing her chores for the day before deciding to jump into the shower and head over to Maura's. Maura was eager to surprise Jane with the new jazz restaurant that opened up relatively close to where she lives. Though it was a Sunday night and they both had work tomorrow morning, they could not stay out too late tonight.

An hour and a half passed and Jane entered the door in a dark maroon sweater with black slacks and flats. Maura was wearing a dark blue dress. Dinner went smoothly with many jokes towards Frankie and his new girlfriend who seems to have failed to make it to tonight's extravaganza. Eventually everyone kissed goodbye and Maura and Jane drove out to the restaurant alone.

"Where is this place?" Jane asked. She pushed back her chair and crossed her legs in the car and slid her hands onto her thighs. "Oh my god, I'm so full."

"It's two more blocks from here. I told you that you should stick to a 40-30-30 diet plan for your body type and exercise activity." Maura answered, trying to calculate how much longer it was going to take before they arrived.

"Why did I have to dress nice? Is this place fancy?" Jane asked.

"No, it's casual. You just look nice when you put effort into it." The doctor responded.

"Jee. Thanks for the backhanded compliment."

"It was just a compliment, no backhands."

Jane contemplated whether or not to add that one to the list. Eventually the two arrived at the restaurant. "The Bee Hive" lit up on the outside of the building. You could hear the live jazz playing from inside of the car. Both exited the car and into the building to find a small booth near the bar seating. It was against the wall of windows, allowing for an outside view of the streets. The windows were slightly open, letting a small breeze in. The band had four members, and the saxophonist was obviously the leader of the group, standing in front and starting each song. The color red nearly popped up everywhere within the building.

The waitresses wore flapper-era clothing while the waiters wore zoot suits. A waiter came up to take the ladies order. He had slicked back black hair and dimples when he smiled with bright green eyes.

"Hi, my name's Ricky. How are ya both doing tonight? Can I get you something to drink? Or maybe an appetizer?"

Jane decided to break her usual habits and indulge for the sake of the environment of the restaurant and it would probably take Maura by surprise.

"Hi, can I get an electric martini?" Jane asked.

"I'll have an apple martini with mirdori, please." Maura answered with a smile.

"Two martinis for the ladies." Ricky smiled and walked over to the POS to enter it in the system. The music continued to flood the room.

"Do you like it?" Maura asked.

"What?"

Maura leaned in closer to Jane. "Do you like the restaurant?"

Jane nodded. "It's different."

"Do you like different?" The doctor inquired.

"To an extent. Depends on what it is."

Maura nodded, although she did not really receive the answer to the question she was asking. Ricky appeared back with the two martinis and placed them in front of each with the napkin.

"Any appetizers tonight?" Ricky smiled genuinely.

"I think we'll stick to drinks tonight. Thank you." Jane answered for both of them.

Ricky nodded and began to walk away.

"Actually, wait-

He turned back around and walked up.

"Sorry, um, can you bring me a Blue Moon when you get a chance."

He nodded.

"Ooo. Can you bring me one as well, please?" Maura added.

"Two Blue Moons, you got it." Ricky continued walking away.

"Are you copying all my drinks tonight?" Jane asked. It was still hard to gauge how loudly to speak to someone who was right next to you with the background music.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What?"

Jane rolled her eyes at the silliness of the situation. She scooted closer to Maura to whisper close to her ear.

"Are you copying my drinks?"

"No, I ordered an apple martini with mirdori and I have been drinking Blue Moon for the past six months now."

"What's midori?" Jane asked.

"It's a melon liqueur, try mine." Maura shoved the glass towards Jane. Jane took a sip eagerly.

She put her mouth next to Maura's ear, "Mm, that's good." The doctor got a shiver from the way Jane's voice sounded at that moment. She turned to look at her.

Maura stared into Jane's eyes and smirked. "Change can be good."

"I'm pretty willing to try anything once."

"I will have to conduct an experiment to further test that."

"What kind of an experiment?"

Ricky showed back up with the two beers. "Are you enjoying your drinks tonight?" Both women nodded. His question made both women ask themselves that and both realized they were both getting buzzed. Ricky smiled again before disappearing.

Maura's hand slid down between them in the booth, resting on the seat.

"What's the experiment?" Jane asked again.

"Enjoy your drink and enjoy the music." The doctor answered.

"Is this a part of the experiment?"

"These are elements of the environment, yes."

Jane stopped questioning the doctor. It was too loud to truly hear everything she was saying regardless. The detective began to appreciate the music and her drink tasted more and more delicious as she sipped it. Maura snuck glances from the band back to Jane. She could tell from Jane's giddy grin and her eyes that she was feeling rather buzzed. Maura began to notice the same effects in herself.

The doctor moved her hand and placed it on Jane's thigh. She watched the detective as her hands tightened for a split second on the table and then let loose. She tilted her head down slightly and back up towards the band, as if she was ignoring what the ME was doing. The doctor made slow traces on her leg, and near her knee.

"This is part one of the experiment."

**A/N Well, well, well. Bit of a fun chapter, don't you think? I think this makes up for the how short the last chapter was! I didn't even realize it was that short until I went back to reread it. Jeez, and you let me get away with it. Anywho, I hope you all have a great weekend. *cheers***

**Oh, PS. What do you think "Op. MLM" means? Out of curiosity. I'm trying not to give away too much of what the characters are thinking in this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

As calm as Jane sat there with the doctor suggestively circling her leg, it was apparent to Maura that she obviously had an effect on the detective. The flushness of her skin, the increase in body temperature and the dilation of her pupils could only indicate arousal from Jane. Maura got carried away, reveling in the fact that she could get away with doing this. She dragged her fingers closer and closer to her inner thighs. Jane leaned in.

"What have you learned thus far from your experiment?" Her voice was wavering slightly.

"I need more information." Maura stated with a maintained tone of voice.

Jane leaned in closer to Maura's ear. Pressing up against it slightly, she whispered with a growl; "Do you need a lot more?" the way she said it sounded rather suggestive. Maura's throat went dry and she started to show the same signs as Jane.

The doctor pulled back slightly, and turned to lock eyes with the detective. Jane was only egging her on, challenging her with her stare. Daring her with every second that ticked by. Maura licked her lips unconsciously.

"You don't want your data to be inconclusive." She winked. Jane's stare was invading Maura's eyes.

The ME nearly choked on her words as they came out, "That is dependent on whether or not I have a willing participant."

"I am willing, but you have to be too."

"In what regard?"

"When are we ever going to have this 'talk'?"

"Whenever you find appropriate."

Jane hesitated. She managed to nod her head slightly; still uncertain of what situation she was exactly getting into. Silence settled between them for a moment until the detective eventually gathered her courage.

"You've wanted to kiss me before?" Her voice grew lighter as the words fell out of her mouth.

"I'm assuming I get to ask questions to, seeing how this is a 'talk', not an inquisition." Maura leaned back with her beer and took a small sip while staring at the detective's mouth.

"I suppose so."

Maura took another small sip. "Yes, I've wanted to kiss you before."

Jane grew quiet and just nodded.

"Have you wanted to?"

"I'm not entirely certain."

"Was there ever a moment where you were curious?" Maura searched.

"I mean, there was a few times where I had thought about it. Just something small." Jane added quietly.

"Something small?"

"Um. Yes. Like a kiss or something." Jane turned to face Maura to gauge her reaction.

"Maura, do you like me more than friend?" Jane laughed at herself on the inside for such a poor choice of phrasing.

"I would need more evidence, to be completely honest."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked utterly confused.

"As much as I think I would enjoy kissing you, as much as I think I would enjoy other things, I still don't know truly know until I try."

The music was still blaring, and it was hard to make out what exactly Maura had said.

"Do you want to go to my place? It's really hard to hear you in here."

Maura nodded. She waved down Ricky and asked for the tab. The two of them sat there in silence, trying to figure out what the right words are to say until Ricky got back. The doctor insisted on paying the bill since it was "her surprise".

They paid the tab and headed back to Jane's place. Jane's leg was bobbing up and down on the way back. She was staring out the window.

"Are you nervous?" Maura asked inquisitively.

"Huh, yeah, a little, I guess." The detective answered, taken by surprise.

"We don't have to talk about it, if you do not wish to."

"I think we've already crossed that line when you said you've thought about kissing me."

Maura nodded once and kept her attention to the road. Five minutes had passed, and they pulled up to her apartment. It was nearly ten o'clock.

The two entered Jane's apartment.

"Do you want something to drink?" Jane asked as she was walking into the kitchen.

"I'll have a glass of water. You should have one too. We both have work in the morning."

The ME sat down on the couch and Jo Friday popped up into her lap, waiting to be pet. Jane returned with two glasses of water, sitting next to Maura.

"So, you were saying that you would have to kiss me to know if you liked me in a romantic sense?" Jane was trying to wrap her head around the comment from earlier logically.

"Well, it would help me realize whether or not I would want to pursue you in a romantic relationship, yes." The doctor was very careful of her phrasing.

"Have you liked other women?"

Maura stared to the side for a second, as if the answer was written in the air.

"Hmm, no. Not particularly."

"How come you were touching my leg earlier?" Jane asked almost half offended that she would do so without asking her permission first.

"I had told you, I was conducting an experiment."

"What's the experiment for, Maura?" Jane placed extra emphasis on her name. There was no anger in her tone, just pure confusion and confliction.

"To see how you would react."

"How did I react?"

"It sexually aroused you." The doctor stated matter of fact.

"It did-it did not turn me on." The detective straightened her back and sat up. She did not especially like the doctor's choice of words when it comes to the matter of sex.

"Yes, it did. It was quite obvious."

"Fine, then you got turned on when I whispered in your ear that time."

"No."

"No? Yes it did. **I **could tell."

"Well, yes. It wasn't just that one time though. The majority of the time it did."

Jane was silenced for a second. It was as if this was a battle of "who got turned on", and Maura admitted defeat yet she showed no signs of it.

"Does that bother you, Jane?" She asked delicately.

"No, I mean. No. It doesn't bother me."

"Is it because you were "turned on" as well?"

"I wasn't turned on."

Maura sighed. She sat her glass of water down on the coffee table and grabbed Jane's glass and set it on the table next to hers.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked, growing in confusion.

"You agreed to be a participant."

"Okay, what's 'this' experiment for?"

"I cannot share that with you because of participant bias. Do not stop me unless you absolutely have to."

Maura shifted her feet underneath her while kicking off her shoes. She leaned towards Jane, and pushed her hair behind her ear. The ME took her hand and began to trace aimless patterns on the detective's thigh again. She leaned forward and placed her mouth next to Jane's ear, dragging it near her neck. Jane sat back as far into the couch as she could. She could feel Maura's hot breath on her neck. The detective squeezed her eyes shut as if willing herself not to be aroused. The doctor took her hand that was tracing Jane's thigh and brought it up to her face, caressing the opposite cheek from her, turning her head towards her.

"Open your eyes."

Jane reluctantly opened her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes glanced down to Maura's lips. Maura giggled in reaction of Jane's response.

"You are sexually aroused." The doctor officially diagnosed her.

Jane grimaced in response.

"I had my eyes shut the whole time. It could have been anyone who was doing that to me." Jane was not afraid to let the bite show in her comment.

The doctgor was slightly hurt from the retort.

"You could have stopped me at any time."

"Yes, if I "absolutely have to"." Jane answered.

"Oh, if that is the case, how far would you have actually let me have gone then?" Maura's voice grew slightly.

Jane gulped, uncertain on how to answer.

"Let's also pay attention to the numerous times you 'check me out' each day. Tell me, Jane, do you like breasts or just mine specifically?"

It took a moment for Jane to speak. "What do you find sexually attractive about me?"

"Are you changing the subject?"

"Yes."

"Nice to have **some** honesty from you."

"So, tell me what you like."

"Your voice. It is sexy."

"My voice?" Jane asked in disbelief.

Maura nodded. "Your aggressiveness. The way you walk. Your dark features."

Jane sat quietly, processing all that information.

"Jane?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you find sexually attractive about me?"

**A/N Our beloved ladies finally get to have their talk. Hope you all had a great weekend. **


	6. Chapter 6

Jane cleared her throat, noticeably loud.

"I, um. I like your hair. It's pretty."

Maura couldn't hold back the boisterous laugh that escaped her lips. The doctor brought a hand to her forehead as if she was puzzled.

"Jane, does my hair sexually excite you?"

The detective fidgeted as if she were in trouble. "Well, no. I just- It's pretty. You're really pretty."

The doctor stared back, egging her to continue with her silence. She shifted on the couch to place her back in the crook to fully look at Jane.

"Like, you always dress nice. You put a lot of effort into your appearance. And, I dunno. You always smell nice too." Jane placed her hand out, palm up, as if she were making a point. As if she were trying to convince Maura that she is indeed pretty.

Maura nodded. She appreciated that Jane thought she was pretty, but that was not the question. Maura set down her glass of water on the table.

"Jane, I realize this may make you uncomfortable, but I'm only asking out of observation, as I have stated previously. Do you appreciate my breasts?"

The detective swallowed. She glanced down at Maura, than bit her lip. She immediately shifted her eyes up. An inaudible "shit" escaped her mouth. Maura grinned back at her a knowing smile and eyes that told her it was okay.

The doctor began shaking her head. "We don't have to talk about it." Jane's face turned sour, as if she lost the dare.

"Maur?"

"Yes?"

"I have thought about kissing you."

Maura bit the corner of her cheeks in order to keep from smiling too widely.

"I know you have."

"How did you know?" Jane's voice cracked slightly.

"Years of observations and analysis."

"Great. So my head isn't even safe from you."

"I'd rather your heart."

Maura smile and Jane shifted in uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable." The doctor continues.

"I. This is just all a lot. Like, I've thought about all this stuff before-thinking maybe, and now you're telling me, yes. I just-it's really hard to wrap my mind around. And Ian, and Gary and tom, and Adam-

"and you with Casey."

"Yeah. I just-it's hard to process."

"All of those men are no longer in my life anymore."

"Yes. I know. And the Casey-thing is more trouble than it's worth."

Both women nodded and smiled knowingly to each other.

Maura began to lay it all on the table for Jane.

"I'm not suggesting that we date if that's not something you're ready for. This was not exactly something I was planning for either. Seeing how next weekend I have a date. I thought it best to just explain everything and let you decide how you feel about it, especially after our incident at Frankie's birthday party. I left a lot of implications unexplained."

"Who's the date?" Jane asked disregarding all other information.

"Guillermo. He's a Spanish artist I met a couple weeks ago at the opening of an art gallery."

"The one I couldn't go to because I promised Frankie I'd watch the game with him." Jane finished.

"Precisely."

The detective's heart was beating hard. Whether it be the abundant amount of information that just floated into her head, or the fact that Maura has a date after telling her she has wanted to kiss her. It was hard to determine. Silence filled the air as if it was pushing both women back into their own respective corners of the couch.

The doctor continued, "I could cancel."

"No. You can't on my account."

There was a sudden stillness in the room. The only noise was of Jo Friday sleeping in the corner on her bed, lightly snoring. And to Jane it felt like her heart was being audibly loud enough for both of them to take into account.

"I should go home. We both have work tomorrow morning."

Jane nodded. It wasn't that she wanted Maura to go home, but more so her brain would not stop buzzing and felt it unnecessary to make the doctor wait until it settled. Maura gathered her belongings and headed towards the door. Jane followed.

"Maura, I really did have a nice time tonight."

"I'm glad, Jane."

Maura's mouth opened as if she had more to say, but closed it before anything else came out. With implied reservation, both parties believed it to be their first date, yet speaking of it would ruin the idea. Jane's hand lingered on the doorway, holding her up.

"Goodnight Jane."

"Goodnight Maur."

The ME turned around and headed out of the place. Jane's eyes followed her until she could no longer see her. Maura drove home quietly, purposefully keeping the radio off. A small tear escaped her left eye as the streetlights shined on her face. Her mind tried to determine all of her overwhelming emotions, and which one was feeling strongest at the moment. She made her way home slowly, as if taking her time getting there would stop time all together. She didn't long to be home, she longed to be nowhere right now.

Jane sat on the couch where she was sitting earlier. She glanced at where Maura was sitting and shifted sight. Her eyes stared blankly at the coffee table in front of her. She ran her hands threw her hair a couple of times, causing the layers of hair to fall down all around her face. Her mind played back the conversation, several times trying to interpret what exactly it meant to her.

An hour had passed by and Jane was sitting in the same spot. Maura lay down in her bed. Closing her eyes peacefully, willing herself to go to sleep before her mind analyzed more of the conversation she had tonight.

Jane glanced at the table, and grabbed her cell phone.

Jane: I love your lips. I often think about what they would feel like on mine. Even when you're not wearing lipstick, they have a beautiful shade of pink to them.

Jane: Your legs drive me crazy. I sometimes half-hate how you always wear dresses.

Maura heard the couple of vibrations from her nightstand and sat up to read the text messages. A smile forced its way onto her lips.

Maura: Imagine both all over you.

Jane: I have.

Maura: You still need time to think.

Jane: I do.

Jane: That doesn't mean we can't flirt, does it?

Maura: I might refrain for the time being.

Jane: y?

Maura: I do not want to disrupt your thinking.

Jane bit the inside of her cheek as she read the text messages.

Maura: Goodnight Jane.

Jane's head flooded with thoughts. Her fists tightened as she thought about the mysterious face of Guillermo. She projected the reason she was feeling the way she was on him, even though she was the real enemy of her situation. Her mind thought back to Maura's lips. How easily she could have kissed them earlier. She adjusted on the sofa, realizing that Maura must think her a coward in some ways. She felt as if she were being dared, dared to face her reality, the truth, dared to become who she was supposed to be. Jane bit her lip. She glanced down at the notepad of paper where "Op. MLM?" was written. Surprised Maura hadn't seen it earlier; she folded back the first piece of paper. She scrawled across the top "Op. GM"

Drive her crazy

A date

A kiss

Be ready.

**A/N Probably not a chapter you were all expecting! To be honest, it wasn't one I was expecting either but it just kind of happened, as does most of my writing. Don't worry, always happy endings here. On another note, this might turn M in later chapters. Hope you are all doing well!**


	7. Chapter 7

Maura shifted in bed consistently throughout the night, only being able to sleep in intervals of about thirty minutes before waking up again to reprocess all the information that had occurred that night. She awoke once again at 4:36am. She stared at her phone as if she was expecting a blinking white dot to indicate she had another message. Regardless of the fact that she did not see one, it only made sense to check it manually anyways. She opened up the screen on her phone and a half smirk popped on her mouth as she glanced at her background image of Bass and Jo Friday playing together. She pulled up her messages, and read again what Jane had sent her before she had tried to start sleep. A flutter filled her stomach and a heat filled her body when she read how much Jane enjoyed her lips and legs. She turned the screen off and lay back in bed letting an audible sigh fall out of her lips.

"The bravest person I know can't gather her courage and make a move."

Maura rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. She attempted several breathing techniques before eventually drifting, already realizing the extent of her tiredness for tomorrow. Her obnoxious alarm began to go off at 6am. The time she would normally be getting up to prepare for an at-home yoga session. She let the clock go until 7am, realizing the importance of getting the sleep she needs. She finally managed to get out of bed, doing a couple of stretches to get her muscles warm and hopefully to wake her up. The whole morning, she consistently looked at the clock, checking her time schedule. Waking up an hour later had really thrown of her morning routine. She finally made it to the morgue ten minutes before she officially started.

She couldn't help but smile at the soy latte that sat on her desk alongside of a spinach croissant. No doubt it was courtesy of Jane. The detective had obviously gone somewhere else to get breakfast, which was somewhat odd considering the extra energy it would take for her to do so, especially because she was not a morning person by any means. Also nor was she ever usually at the department before Maura.

Maura pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Jane.

Maura: Thank you, my savior.

Jane: Did you need saving?

Maura: Undoubtedly.

Maura began filing some of her paperwork from the most recent cases as Suzie had walked in. Suzie was carrying a clipboard and wearing safety goggles, which never seemed to come off of her.

"Doctor Isles, I have already completed the routine checklist for the day, is there anything else you would like me to focus on?"

"Um, yes. Do you mind checking the medical utensils and examining whether or not any need replacement. I will need to place an order of any needed supplies by four today." The doctor was obviously slightly flustered.

"Not a problem. Doctor Isles?"

Maura turned her head to face Suzie more directly, waiting for her to continue.

"Are you feeling okay?"

The doctor blinked a couple of times, realizing that her appearance is giving off current state of mind more than she had attended too.

"Yes. I'm just feeling a bit tired." Maura answered quickly before anymore follow up questions could be asked. Suzie, realizing she was being dismissed, nodded and walked away to go perform her newly assigned task. Maura continued to focus on her paperwork, correcting any errors she observed. Eleven minutes after ten, Jane had walked in smiling. Her expression changed when she saw the obvious weariness of the doctor. Maura looked up and smiled back regardless.

"Maur, you alright?" Jane asked as she walked up next to her desk. Jane placed a hand on her shoulder.

Maura turned up towards the detective, trying to hide signs of her fatigue.

"Yes. I'm just a bit tired. I think we stayed out a little too late last night." Jane paused, analyzing what exactly Maura could have meant by that statement.

"I think it was important that we did stay up though." Jane responded slowly, gauging Maura's reaction.

"Yes, it was." Maura stated rather blankly. Jane squeezed her shoulder in reply.

"Woah. You're tense! Are you sore?" Jane asked in disbelief. Jane continued rubbing Maura's shoulder with her hand on it. The doctor took her hand and placed it on top of the detective's hand stopping her.

"Slightly. Thank you for the coffee and croissant." Maura began to change the subject.

"Well, I'm your savior apparently" Jane began to flirt. Jane shifted her body behind Maura and placed her other hand on her shoulder. She began rubbing them gently, feeling the knots between her fingers. Maura closed her eyes, enjoying the obvious attention Jane was paying towards her body. Jane's breathe heightened slightly, noticeably by the doctor. She started to absentmindedly rub the same area repeatedly, as if she were thinking about something.

"You-you should come over tonight. I'll give you a massage." Jane spoke hardly above a whisper. Maura opened one eye, as she began to understand what Jane was asking. Maura shifted in the chair and turned her head up towards the detective.

"Please." Jane whispered.

The ME's head contemplated the options of yes and no. She realized some of the risks with each individual answer. She stared back up towards Jane and couldn't help but nod regardless.

"You do realize that in order to give a proper massage the recipient should be naked?" Maura asked, daring Jane.

Jane's eyes glanced up and down on Maura and then nodded her own head, her nervousness exemplified across her body.

"I'll come over after work tonight." Maura answered matter-of-factly. Jane smiled, taking it as her cue to get back to work. The detective left her office and headed back up to her unit, smiling the whole way up.

Maura's eyes stared off to the side, realizing there may be more entailed for tonight then a normal one. Her mind wandered slightly, thinking of how Jane's hands were just on her shoulders, and where else they could be tonight. She swiftly crossed her legs at the thought. She closed her eyes and sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

Time passed slightly quicker than she had first anticipated. The clock now stated 4:36pm. Maura smiled at the odd timing correlating with this morning. She realized she was slightly hungry, and picked up her phone to call Jane's work phone.

"Detective Jane Rizzoli" Her voice obviously showed that she was closed to getting off of work. How quickly and abruptly she had answered.

The doctor smiled, adoring the way Jane answered the phone.

"Hi Jane, do you want me to pick up food before I come over? I can get Chinese." Maura asked.

"Yeah. That's perfect, actually. I wanted to do a couple things before you got over anyways."

"Okay, well, I'll see you in about an hour from now. "

"Okay." Jane answered, uncertain of what else to say. Her nerves continued to shoot up as the day had gone on.

"Okay, I will see you then."

"Yeah."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Maura raised an eyebrow at the odd ending to the phone conversation; meanwhile Jane was mentally hitting herself in the head for acting so odd.

The last twenty minutes had gone by dreadfully slow. Eventually Maura left the building after calling in an order for take-out from their usual restaurant. Maura noticed she still had a little of time before going to Jane's and decided to take a short detour home to change into clothing that was more comfortable. She threw on black yoga pants and a snug grey long-sleeved shirt. She eventually made it to Jane's door, and before reaching for the door knob, the door opened.

"Hey." Jane breathed out.

"Hi." Maura responded, taken back by Jane's disheveled appearance, still managing to look sexy while doing so.

"Do you need help?" Jane asked.

"I'm sorry?"

Jane let out a smile and grabbed the bags of Chinese from Maura's hands. Maura entered the room behind Jane, glancing at the couch and seeing a few candles and body oils displayed. A small bag from The Body Shop lay next to it. Jane placed the Chinese food into the kitchen and began to take out the cartons of food.

"Hungry?" Jane asked.

"Starving." Maura answered more than one question.

**A/N Slow and steady wins the race. Any thoughts of what scenario you would like to see the ladies in the future?**


	8. Chapter 8

Jane took out the cartons of food on the counter top and began compiling plates for the two of them. Maura got settled by taking off her shoes and laying her handbag on the table. The doctor's eyes watched as Jane carefully put together each plate, covering one plate with more vegetables than the other, presumably Maura's. Jane bit her lip as she continued to compile the food, not to go unnoticed by Maura. The detective glanced up.

"What?"

The doctor just shook her head.

"Nothing. Would you like a beverage?" Maura asked as she began walking over to the refrigerator.

"Blue moon, please." Maura walked back with two Blue Moons and twisted off the cap of each one. She placed one in Jane's hand.

"Cheers, to my favorite nights." Maura held up her bottle towards Jane. The detective tapped her bottle to Maura's. A weary smile placed on Jane's face. Both women took a swig and set the glass down.

"Shall we eat?" Jane asked, placing the plates in their usual areas. Maura nodded. Both women sat down into their usual seats. They dove into the food in front of them.

"Thank you again for the coffee and croissant this morning." Maura spoke up.

"It's no problem. I was there anyways and thought I'd get you something."

A glance of confusion washed over Maura's face. "Yes. Why were you there again? You usually never get up early."

"I get up early." Jane spoke defensively, half in jest.

"Okay. Fine. You get up early. Why were you at that café though?" Maura continued. Still confused as to why Jane would go out of her way to get top quality coffee compared to the usual office coffee.

"I woke up really early and couldn't seem to sleep. Thought I'd do something new while I waited to go to work."

"What time did you wake up?"

"A little after four-thirty."

Maura made a small mental note of the number of coincidences occurring today.

"You have been up since four?" Concern shined through Maura's voice.

"I'm not that tired, really."

"Did you go to the coffee shop at four?"

"What? God no. That's-I don't even think it's open that early. I went there around six."

"What did you do while you were there? We didn't start until nine today."

Jane's eyes quickly glanced to the notepad of paper lying next to her coat, with crumpled pages and coffee stains.

"I don't know. I just enjoyed my coffee."

"According to the American Medical Foundation it is recommended that the average adult achieves seven to nine hours of sleep every night."

"It's hard to fall asleep sometimes." Jane answered as she finished her last bite of Chow Mein. She placed her crumpled napkin on her plate.

"I can stay with you tonight." Maura spoke carefully with the obvious dare present.

"You don't have to."

"I wouldn't mind." Maura rebutted.

Jane picked up both of their finished plates and began walking to the kitchen, whispering a "me either" under her breath. The doctor couldn't help but feel a smile push up onto her lips. She enjoyed how much Jane wanted her, even though they still had a lot to figure out.

Maura picked up both of their beers and sat down on the couch, turning the TV on. Jane walked in behind her.

"Oh, I thought we would do it in the bedroom." Jane stated.

Maura turned around with a questioning face at the suggestiveness of Jane's statement. Jane began backtracking as soon as she realized the alternative meaning in her sentence.

"Oh. No, I mean, the couch isn't as comfortable and I just want a lot of room- Jane paused completely. Realizing she was digging the hole deeper, she let out a large exhale.

"The massage. I'm talking about the massage." Maura smirked at the detective being so flustered.

"What else could we possibly be talking about?" The doctor grinned.

"I should have never taught you sarcasm."

Maura patted the couch seat next to her. "Why don't we watch a little TV so we can digest?" The detective made her way over to the couch and sat down next to Maura. The TV played in the background the show Bar Rescue. Jane's eyes kept shifting down between the two of them. A few minutes had gone by, and Jane held a look as if she were debating something. Maura's eyes stayed lock on the television set. Jane reached out her hand and grabbed the one in Maura's lap and pulled it into her own and held it gently, rubbing her thumb over the top of her palm. Jane placed her eyes straight as soon as possible, as if nothing had changed. Maura glanced over with a genuine smile on her face. She squeezed the detective's hand once to show her adoration silently. Speaking of it out loud would only embarrass Jane. Jane took her other hand and held Maura's hand with both of hers. Another ten minutes had passed, and Maura made the motion to rest her head on Jane's shoulder. She closed her eyes in response. Maura sat in content, not making a move to change their positions.

She glanced back up at Jane, to unsurprisingly see, the detective had fallen asleep. The doctor took the moment to appreciate Jane's beauty and observe it silently. She shifted her head, and pulled back to see the detective still sitting silently.

"Jane?"

"Jane?"

A murmur sounded. Maura squeezed Jane's hand. The detective's eyes fluttered open.

"Let's go to bed." Maura stood up, still holding Jane's hand pulling her towards the bedroom. The two eventually collapsed onto Jane's bed. Maura pushing the cover down towards their feet and pulling the sheets over them.

"I'm sorry." Jane mumbled.

"What for?"

"I was supposed to give you a massage." Jane spoke sleepily.

"You've had a long day. I'd rather you get the right amount of sleep."

"I will give you a massage, I swear."

They both lay in bed facing each other. Both with their eyes shut. Jane's hand still laid over Maura's.

"I will enjoy that when the time comes."

"You won't be the only one." Jane responded rather suggestively. Maura fluttered open her eyes to better gauge Jane's response. The detective could feel the doctor's eyes on her and opened hers. They held each other's eyes. Jane took her hand, and placed it on Maura's face, caressing her cheek. She leaned in slowly, meeting Maura's lips with her own. She pushed harder into her lips, Maura opening her mouth slightly. Maura's hand reached for Jane's hip, and held it there. It lasted shortly, and when both women pulled away, it was obvious that they both wanted more.

**A/N I'm sorry about the bit of a delay. I was off to the lake for the whole weekend, having a blast. No massage here, but it did get rather sweet. What do you think? I know I'm dragging this out a bit, but I think that it's more than worth it in the end.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N ****On another note, I'm adding this here because of the number of reviews with this as their primary concern. There will be NO LOVE TRIANGLE. If you don't like new characters, that's fine. There is no love triangle though.**

Both women stared at each other. Jane's eyes darted back to Maura's mouth. The doctor held a look of apprehension. Maura moved her lips together and apart as though she was going to say something. Before she had the chance to, Jane's lips pushed up against hers again. The kiss was a little more aggressive, causing Maura to without will open her mouth slightly. A small moan pushed at the back of her throat. Jane continued to initiate the kiss, dipping her tongue slightly into the doctor's mouth. Maura clenched the bed sheets with her opposite hand that wasn't on Jane's hips. She did not want this to go too far. Jane began sucking on Maura's bottom lip, and that's what did it. That is all it took. Maura pushed her hips over and lay on top of Jane. Her thigh was in between the detective's legs. The doctor dipped her tongue into Jane's mouth, massaging her tongue with her own. The detective's hands instinctively when to Maura's hips, pushing slightly into them. Maura pulled back from the kiss briefly. She pushed herself up, holding herself by her hand on the side of Jane's body. She stared down towards the detective and watched as she licked her lips and bit the bottom one. They held each other's gaze for several seconds until both of their phones rang.

"Oh, come on!" Jane shouted.

Maura shifted herself off of the detective and attempted to fix her appearance, as though the person calling her would be able to see what she had been up to.

"Dr. Isles" She answered, slightly out of breath. She paced around the living room listening to the information.

Jane rolled out of bed, already listening to the details of Maura's phone call and walked over to answer her own phone.

"Rizzoli"

"Rizzoli, we gotta boddeh down on 23rd street next to the promenade. Its right by dat place where da water shoots up outta da ground those kids play in durin' summa." The dispatcher spoke quickly. His Rhode Island accent let her know who it was.

"Thanks Shane. I'll be there."

"Yeah. Ya beddah hurra. Boddeh's fresh."

Maura was in the living room, fumbling to put her shoes on. She was waiting for Jane to exit the bedroom so they would carpool together. Her eye caught the yellow notebook with the paper crinkled up. She flipped it over and onto the first page. "Operation MLM" was covered in coffee stains at the top. Her eyes began scanning over the information. Her mouth couldn't stop the smile that forced its way to her lips. Part of it was knowing that Jane would be embarrassed if she knew she had seen this and the other part was how adorable it was for Jane to do this. Maura heard an "Ah, dammit" Coming from the bedroom and the clunk of Jane's boots. She quickly put the notepad flipped back over and lay it where she had found it.

Jane's husky voice searched out. "Ya ready?"

"Yes. I'm ready." Maura stared down at her outfit, swiping out an invisible wrinkle.

"I'm driving." Jane announced.

Something was different between the two of them. Jane had dug the hole deeper. She still wasn't making much headway with explaining to Maura what she had exactly wanted. Nor was it making it any easier to understand what their rules for their relationship were. Although the kiss was incredible, it created more confusion.

Jane began to exit the door with Maura shortly behind her. The chill of the night hit them both rather quickly. They hurriedly entered the detective's car. Maura began to run her hands repeatedly over her thighs in attempt of warming them. Jane turned on the heater, but it would still be a moment before it heated up completely. She pulled out the car and got onto the street. An uncomfortable silence had filled the air. The detective reached for the radio to turn on some music. The popular guitar line of "Feel like Making Love" came on as if the radio was jesting at what had happened between both women.

Maura let out an unapologetic laugh. Jane pursed her lips in response. A small blush rolled over on her face. She immediately reached to turn off the radio. The two sat in silence as they made their way past the next two blocks.

"Seriously?" Jane asked.

"I'm sorry. What?"

Jane mumbled. "It's snowing."

"Excuse me?"

"Look." Jane pointed upwards at the sky as they drove.

"Many surprises tonight." Maura spoke quietly.

Jane glanced over at the doctor, trying to gauge her response. They pulled up to the crime scene. Jane eagerly handed Maura a jacket from the back seat of her car.

"Here. Put this on."

"Thank you."

Two police offers watched as Jane and Maura had pulled up. Both were women. One had auburn colored hair with pale skin and green eyes. Her nose was small and round. She had beautiful thick lips with a natural shade of pink to them. The other, known as Johnson, had dark black hair, with large cheeks, thick lips and darker skin.

"Are you certain they are not a couple? She just handed her her own jacket!" The woman spoke with a slight accent.

Johnson giggled. "No, ma'am. I always thought Rizzoli was but she's been seeing some soldier for some time now."

"What about the other one? What's her name?"

"Isles. I don't know I've never seen her with a woman. She seems pretty liberal though." Johnson elbowed her.

"Have you attempted?" The auburn woman spoke.

Johnson let out a loud "Ha!"

"I don't think my husband would very much appreciate that. Even if I did, I think Garcia is more my style. Or even that new guy. The higher up?" Johnson showed off her wedding ring proudly.

Both Rizzoli and Isles began to approach the officers to attempt to see the body. The snow was sitting on the top of both of the officer's hats.

"Hey Johnson." Rizzoli nodded. Rizzoli focused her eyes on the other woman's plate tag, "V. Alvintzi" shined back.

"Hi, Alvintzi." Jane spoke with slight uncertainty. "Detective Jane Rizzoli. This is Maura Isles, the medical examiner." Both women exchanged handshakes with the new officer.

"Hello. I'm Valentina Alvintzi. I would prefer "Val" though." Her accent became more apparent when pronouncing her own name.

"I take it you're not a born and raised Bostonian." Jane inquired.

"No. Austrian I presume." Maura answered with her interest piqued.

The auburn woman smiled largely. "Correct. Have you ever been?" Val asked.

"Twice to Vienna. I had not had the opportunity to travel much to the country side though." Maura answered quickly.

"I am from Vienna. Perhaps we crossed each other's path during your stay."

"Perhaps." Maura blushed slightly.

"I think I would remember though."

"Why is that?"

"I should tell you some time." Val smiled charmingly. Jane showed a face of disgust at their banter.

"Jane, Doc, get over here! This snow ain't stopping." Korsak waved his hand to motion them over.

Jane reached to grab Maura's hand gently and pulled her over towards the body.

"Goodbye, Maura." Val spoke sweetly.

Maura smiled in response and turned to continue walking with Jane. Jane was not feeling the cold at all right now. She was too busy focusing on keeping her calm and handling the job at hand. Although her skin was slightly heated from the interaction she witnessed that had just taken place.

"and you say Rizzoli is not gay. I flirted with Maura innocently and she was going to burst."

Johnson bounced on her feet.

"Hey now. I'm just saying what I hear. You have your go at whatever your little Austrian heart pleases."

The Auburn woman just smiled and began observing the detective and doctor's interactions together.

**A/N Don't worry. You will all begin to love Val eventually. I mean, who wouldn't? She's hot as hell. Let it all play out. On another note, I'm adding this here because of the number of reviews with this as their primary concern. There will be NO LOVE TRIANGLE. If you don't like new characters, that's fine. There is no love triangle though.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of the week had been gone in a blur. The case had kept occupied both Maura and Jane to the very end of Sunday evening. Maura had to cancel her date with Guillermo, which Jane showed no emotion for when Maura had broke the news to her as they traveled to find another suspect. Nor could they rebook the date as Guillermo was heading back to Spain on Tuesday morning. The homicide eventually unveiled to be a series of murders that have been unsolved for the past three years- state wide. The solving of the case resulted in an acknowledgement of Jane and her hard work, not to mention an increase in responsibility and salary. It was hard to imagine her surprise when Val walked in with Cavanaugh on Monday morning at 10am.

"Rizzoli, Alvintzi here is shadowing you for the next two weeks. Teach her well and keep track of her progress. Report back to me after the two week period."

Cavanaugh walked away back to his office, allowing for the two women to introduce themselves. Jane's face turned into an utter scowl. It did not go unnoticed by Val.

"It is a pleasure to learn from you Detective Rizzoli." Val smiled brightly.

Korsak watched the scene from his desk, admiring the new officer in the room.

"Excuse me, one moment." Jane sat up from her desk and walked fiercely to Cavanaugh's room without knocking. She slammed the door behind her.

"What the hell am I doing letting Alvin-that non-American-Austrian officer shadow me?" Jane raged.

"Rizzoli, next time you want to enter my office, you knock. Clear?" Cavanaugh spoke in a stern voice.

Jane's face turned into further annoyance.

"Yes. Why is Alvintzi shadowing me?" Jane asked in a calmer manner, letting the insincerity ring throughout her voice.

"As I had established with you, increased pay means increased responsibility. We need more detectives like you running around. Alvintzi's got a great record. She's been in New York for the past four years and has been trying to transfer down to Boston for two of those years. It was also her preference to shadow a female detective." Cavanaugh explained slowly.

"Of course she asked for a female detective! I'm nearly the only freaken one!" Jane continued outburst.

"Well, Rizzoli, take it as a damn compliment, because that's what it is. End of discussion." Cavanaugh stood up to exit the room.

"Now, if you excuse me. I have a meeting. He left the room calmly, cell phone in hand.

After he had closed the door, Jane let out a mumble.

"With my mother."

Jane exited Cavanaugh's office and back into the bullpen to see that Korsak has taken more than a liking to Val. He was bright red and giggling at nearly everything she had said. Jane got the corner of Vince's eye and his expression changed, causing Val to look at Jane.

"Pleasure to see you back. What is on the agenda today, Jane? May I call you Jane?"

"You may not. I am Detective Rizzoli and as far as I'm concerned, you are Officer Alvintzi."

"Noted, Detective Rizzoli." Val smiled slyly.

Korsak watched the interaction from the background and nearly shuddered at Jane's choice of words. Jane sat down in her chair and booted her computer up. Alvintzi grabbed a nearby chair and placed it near Jane and her desk.

"May I help you?" Val asked sweetly.

"Yeah. See this pile of cases. Start alphabetizing them by case number." Jane grabbed a group of paper over a hundred. It was not entirely necessary to do; it did make the job of filing them slightly easier though.

"Detective Rizzoli, I assume that this will not be the majority of my shadowing. Seeing how I could have shadowed a librarian for that manner. It would be unproductive for our pay grades."

Jane inhaled deeply.

"No. It will not. I need to get a coffee." Jane grabbed her coat from the back of her chair and began walking to the elevator while dialing Maura's cell phone number.

"Doctor Isles"

"Why do you answer the phone like that if you have caller ID?" Jane asked angrily.

"It is a professional habit and for that matter, I did not look at the screen." Maura annoyingly answered.

"Can you meet me for coffee, please?" Jane breathed out.

"Rough day already?" Concern showed in the doctor's voice.

"You have no idea."

"Be there in five."

Jane entered the cafe. Fortunately for her, her mother was off. She was not in the mood to be badgered with questions for her angry state. She ordered her own coffee and Maura's coffee as well. She grabbed a table for two in the corner.

Maura came down dressed in a beige blazer with a black blouse and black dress pants. Her hair was slightly straighter than normal. She smiled brightly when she noticed Jane. She took the seat across from Jane, setting her handbag in her lap.

"What's going on?" Maura asked worriedly.

"Officer Alvintzi! That's what's going on." Jane exclaimed.

It took a moment for Maura to recall who exactly Jane was referring to.

"Oh, Val? She seemed nice. What about her?"

"She is not nice and I'm pretty sure her accent is fake. Who talks like her? And she's shadowing me for the next two weeks!" Jane put her head down as though it was the end of the world. Both her hands lay across the table.

Maura placed her hand over one of Jane's and brushed her thumb over it. Jane looked up into Maura's eyes.

"I've missed you." Jane said simply. A smile began pulling at the corners of her mouth, causing two dimples to show.

Maura showed back a smile as though the simple interaction had made her week.

"I've missed you too. This past couples of weeks have been very tumultuous, in work and outside of."

Jane nodded quietly. Catching the implication of what Maura was saying. However, Maura felt it necessary to say regardless.

"Not a lot of time to think. That's for certain." She continued.

Jane glanced up and met Maura's eyes, trying to promise her more with just a look.

"Ah, Doctor Maura Isles. It is nice to see you again." The Austrian accent shined its way through the room and reached the back of Maura. Maura turned slightly in her chair to see Val walking up to the two of them. Jane's face turned into a grimace.

"I apologize. Did I interrupt a moment?" Val nodded towards the women's hand holding.

Jane immediately retracted her hands.

"No. Nothing at all." Jane answered.

Maura cast a glare over at Jane, disapproving of her response.

"How have you been since we have last met, Doctor Isles?" Val asked sweetly, her eyes twinkling with sincerity.

"I have been busy but well. You may call me Maura. How have you been, Val?"

"Great. I have begun my journey of shadowing with Detective Rizzoli here. I am certain she will teach me more than some simple filing tasks."

Maura met Jane's eyes to say "really?", Jane returned her look with eyes a puppy may give when it is being punished.

"Maura, may I ask if you have plans this weekend?"

"She does. She will be at my place all weekend." Jane answered aggressively. Maura turned her head to face Jane's expression.

"Oh, perhaps sometime during the week then? There is a restaurant that I have been meaning to try. French cuisine. However, being in this new city has left me limited company. Not that your company is last resort, anything but. I was hoping you would like to try it with me." Val's eyes nearly dazzled as she spoke.

"Jane and I would love to try it with you. How is Wednesday evening?" Maura asked excitedly.

"Fantastic! I shall bring another guest as well." Val responded excitedly. She eyed up the detective's response as well.

A sour scowl came across Jane Rizzoli's face for the umpteenth time today.


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the day had passed by dreadfully slow. Maura had chosen to purposely not respond to Jane's text messages complaining about her new company. The doctor stared at her phone as the fifth text message came in within the last two hours. She opened it up to read the following messages.

Jane: Do Austrians seriously sound like this?

Jane: Where IS Austria?

Jane: I don't know why you agreed to the restaurant this Wednesday.

Jane: She is speaking in "Austrian" over the phone. I think its pig Latin.

Jane: I miss you.

Maura read all the text messages disapprovingly until she got to the last one. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips.

Maura: What am I going to be doing all weekend at your apartment?

Jane: Are you busy right now?

Maura: On break.

She set down her phone for a moment. Within two minutes, Jane appeared at her office door. She knocked twice on the open door before entering. A raspy "hey" escaped her mouth.

"Hi?" Maura sounded surprised. She continued.

"How's being shadowed, Detective Rizzoli?"

Jane's face turned sour.

"Don't ask."

"I already did, technically." Jest carried in Maura's voice.

Jane plopped down on the couch without a response.

"So, what are we doing this weekend? That I was completely unaware of."

The detective's face relaxed. She sat up straight on the couch and moved to the office door, shutting it. She sat back down on the couch and motioned for Maura to come over. Maura walked over slowly and sat with a foot of distance between both the detective and herself. Maura's blouse hung slightly lower than usual. Jane averted her eyes. It did not go unnoticed by Maura.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. Alvintzi just rubs me the wrong way. I don't really get what her deal is." The detective explained.

"Do we have plans this weekend?" Maura asked confused.

"Uhm. I-well." Jane began to stutter. Maura stared in anticipation of what she was going to say next. Her eyes never left her lips as they moved, trying to form the thoughts she held. Jane licked her lips. Maura crossed her legs.

She continued. "I know we haven't-I haven't had a lot of time to think, but I think that-" Jane began drumming her fingers on her thigh. Her hands were shaky while doing so.

"What are you nervous about?" Maura asked, taking in the physical cues. Her head tilted to the side, analyzing the detective.

"Well, I still owe you that massage. So, I figured we could do that this weekend." Jane finished.

"Oh." The disappointment was not hidden with Maura's response.

"So, yeah. I still owe you one on account of I fell asleep last time." Jane continued.

"Yes, right. You do." Maura finished. The doctor pursed her lips. Silence filled the room.

Jane stood up.

"I gotta get back to my shadow-e. She'll just follow me down here otherwise." Jane left the room. She closed the office door behind her. She began shaking her head in disappointment. Her teeth bit the inside of her lip in anger. Her fists clenched together.

Maura remained sitting on the couch. She absently stared at where Jane was sitting.

Jane entered the bullpen in a rushed walk to her desk. Alvintzi sat near completing some of the remainder of paperwork Jane had assigned.

"How is Maura?" Alvintzi asked curiously.

"Doctor Isles is fine as far as I know." Jane responded annoyed.

"Oh, I apologize. I had thought you two were close. I thought it was her you had seen on your break." Val responded.

"We are close."

"Oh, good friends?" Alvintzi continued to inquire.

"Yes." Jane bit her lip, unhappy with her own response.

"Two pretty single ladies?" Val stated more like a question than a statement.

"Are you done with that paperwork? I cannot speak on behalf of Doctor Isles' relationship status."

Val nodded and continued working on the paperwork. She began again.

"I am eager for our dinner Wednesday night. Do you enjoy French cuisine?"

"I have not really had it before."

"Oh, it is fantastic! I am certain you will enjoy it. Nina, my guest, is very fond of it." Val raged.

"Nina is who you are bringing?"

Val nodded enthusiastically. Jane stared at the screen refusing to make eye contact. Val stared at Jane with a smirk. The rest of the day finished in silence.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jane had gone directly home and began her usual Friday night routine on a Monday evening. She grabbed a Blue Moon from the fridge and sat on her couch. She kicked her boots off and stuck her feet on the coffee table aggressively. She put on whatever sports game she could find as quickly as possible and chugged half off her beer. After ten minutes into her beer, she stared off into the corner of her belongings and saw the yellow notebook paper flipped back. She stood up and reached for it; and brought a black sharpie to the paper.

A date.

-Picnic in the park?

-Dinner?

-Movies?

-Concert?

Jane tapped the pen to the paper. She tilted her head back on the couch and exhaled loudly. The next line she wrote:

Why is this so hard?

Xxxxxxx

The next two work days had gone by suddenly. Alvintzi and Rizzoli were able to go through the processes of interrogation on some suspects for a small case. Truly, they were doing a favor for the drug unit who was down a man on account of Paternity leave. Jane was actually impressed by Alvintzi's seriousness when it came to Good Cop/Bad Cop. They had ended one interrogation with a high five. A smirk displayed across Jane's face until Val had mentioned her eagerness once again for their dinner later that evening. Maura had kept busy with small research assignments requested by different departments.

Later on in that evening, all of the four women had begun to prepare for that night's dinner. As Maura had put on her last touch of a light red lipstick to accompany her darker red dress, her phone buzzed.

"Hey." Her voice sounded smooth.

"Hey, I'm going to drive tonight, okay?" Jane answered.

Maura smiled at Jane taking initiative.

"Okay, I am ready. Will you be here soon?"

"I'm around the corner."

Jane double taked her appearance in the review mirror before getting out of her car. Her make-up was done a little more thoroughly. The dark purple blouse held nicely next to her skin tone. She wore her darker pair of jeans and slid on a stylish leather jacket. She reached Maura's door and turned the knob. Maura had her back to the door and turned around with a wine glass in hand to face Jane. The detective's mouth held a gap.

"Would you like some wine before we go?"

The detective cleared her throat. "No, thanks. You look great."

The doctor smiled. "You look beautiful." The shock of red ran up to Jane's cheeks before she was able to change the subject.

"Tryin' to get lucky tonight?" Jane joked.

"Are you offering?"

Jane swallowed.

"You deserve more than that." She finally responded.

Maura nodded. "And I want more than that."

They spent the next ten minutes updating each other on what had gone on since they had last seen each other earlier that morning. Maura had eventually finished her wine and they had headed to the restaurant. Their usual banter came into place between the women and the teasing between the two of them had gotten worse. Jane felt tipsy off their interactions. They finally had pulled up to "Au Soleil" a few minutes after their expected arrival. Jane had gone to the hostess and had given her Alvintzi's name. Jane and Maura had walked together in close proximity to be taken to the booth where two lovely ladies had sat. The two women were smiling at each other sitting closely together until they had noticed Jane and Maura's presence.

Val had her long auburn hair down for once. It was longer than anticipated. It held loose waves. Her lipstick shade was a daring dark red. She wore tight black pants with a revealing grey blouse. She was feminine yet strong. The other woman, only to assume would be Nina was stunning. Nina's brown hair fell down as though it was silk. Her skin tone was a darker brown. Her hazel eyes contrasted greatly with her dark features. Her nose was elongated and her lips were full. Nina wore a black dress that accentuated her body greatly. Both women stood up to greet Jane and Maura.

Nina was the first to speak. "Hello, I am Nina." Her English accent became clear with her first sentence.

**A/N I apologize if this chapter had seen a bit rushed. I was trying to move quickly to our dinner date on Wednesday. A lot of you had expressed your concern for another love triangle, I can assure you I am going based off of solely what I want for this story. I know it has changed in some ways rather quickly. However, I challenge you to truly think about what you know about Val instead of what she has done and said. I have not revealed any thoughts any of the characters hold and I think it's important to keep that in mind.**


	12. Chapter 12

Jane's eyes had widened when she heard Nina's accent. It was obvious she was analyzing the two women standing in front of her. Maura took the opportunity to introduce herself and Jane, as Jane had seemed to be at a loss of words. All four women had taken their seats in the booth. Both Nina and Maura had sat on the inside. With Val on the outside of Nina and Jane to Maura. It was more towards the back of the restaurant and not many guests had been seated near them. The booth had a small view of the city lights.

"I hope it is not a problem, I took the liberty of ordering us a bottle of Château Mont-Redon. It is fantastic." Val spoke smoothly.

Four wine glasses sat on the table with the bottle of wine. Val began pouring each glass for the women.

Maura's eyes widened with a smile. "Very good choice, Val. That's an excellent selection."

Jane's eyes narrowed at the compliment. Her forearm was on the table with her hand in the shape of a fist.

"Jane, do you enjoy wine?" Nina asked curiously.

"Um, yeah. I usually have wine with Maura. I usually have beer otherwise though." She removed her forearm from the table.

Maura smiled.

"My kind of woman. What's your beer, Jane?" Nina asked smiling.

"You like Blue Moons? That's my go-to."

"I love Blue Moons. Although, Hoegaarden is my 'go-to'". Nina responded.

"Actually, surprisingly, I haven't had Hoegaarden."

"You'll have to try some sometime. I always have some at home."

The doctor stared at the detective gauging her reaction. Jane could see Maura out of the corner of her eye.

"I would love to."

"Sounds great. We'll have to plan something. So, Val told me she has been shadowing you this past week?"

"Yes. I am learning detective work is a lot of filing." Val interrupted.

Jane shrugged. "Not everything is cotton candy and pony rides."

Nina began laughing. "Glad to know where my tax dollars are going."

Jane let out a small giggle. "Hey, I catch a lot of bad guys too." 

"Oh, I bet. A total "bad-ass". Isn't that right?" Nina continued to joke.

"Absolutely. Right, Maura?"

Maura's eyes shifted between all three women. "Jane is outstanding in her field. She has solved many cases and continues to improve herself and the department." Maura answered honestly.

Jane glanced over at Maura to meet her eyes and had smiled sweetly. Jane placed her hand on Maura's knee and squeezed twice. They held gazes. There was an obvious sexual tension between them.

Both Nina and Val had looked at each other with a knowing look after observing Jane and Maura. Their waiter had shown up. He had blonde hair combed neatly to the side. Hair sprayed in place. He had blue eyes and pale skin. He was slim and tall.

"Hello, ladies. My name is Aaron. I will be your server tonight. Are you enjoying your wine?"

"Oh, it's delicious." Val answered.

"Fantastic." Maura answered at the same time.

"Great. May I get you ladies started with an appetizer?"

"I apologize Aaron. We had been talking this whole time. I don't think any of us had looked at the menu. Do you recommend anything?" Nina answered.

Aaron's eyes opened as he analyzed Nina's accent for a split second. He glanced at Val as his mind retracted and realized her accent.

"I would have to recommend the Gougère for an appetizer. They are delicious" The waiter responded.

"What's that?" Jane asked confused.

"Cheese puffs." Nina responded.

Jane snickered. "I want some of those." She nodded toward Aaron.

"Me as well." Nina chipped in.

"Is that fine with you, Maura? Or would you like something else?" Val asked.

"The Gougères sound great." Maura nodded towards Aaron.

"No problem. I'll be back shortly with the Gougère's plate."

"So how do you two know each other?" Maura asked both Val and Nina.

"Oh, we have known each other for years. I have known Val since university. She had done a study abroad program at my uni." Nina answered.

"Oh. What University?" Maura inquired.

"Oxford University." Val answered.

"Oh, wow. That's a great school. And you both had ended up coming to Boston?" 

"I had gotten my JD degree shortly after from Oxford. I grew out of love with being a lawyer and figured a change would be good. Nina was a good friend who had moved to Boston as a career move and decided why not." Val answered.

"What do you do, Nina?" Maura's head turned toward her.

"I am a clinical psychologist." Nina answered.

"So, you're psycho-analyzing us right now, Nina?" Jane asked, sipping her wine.

"Ha! Far from it, I'm getting drunk. I have no appointments tomorrow." Nina took a swig of her wine while drinking and winked towards Jane.

Jane nearly spit out of her wine at Nina's response. She smiled as she attempted to swallow.

Val shook her head jokingly as though she was disappointed towards Maura. The doctor smiled and sipped her wine.

Aaron returned with the Gougères and placed the plate in the center of the table. He passed out four smaller plates per each woman.

Jane took one into her mouth. She moaned.

"Oh, these are delicious."

"Told you." Nina smiled while taking two on to her plate.

The rest of the dinner had gone by more enjoyably then Jane had thought. They shared many laughs as each woman got slightly buzzed. Nina's sense of humor had continued to come out as the dinner had gone by. Meanwhile, Maura and Val played "grown-ups" to Jane and Nina. They eventually ordered their meals from Aaron and even decided to stay for dessert. Nina took another glass of wine as did Maura. They finished off the bottle. Val and Jane declined because they were driving.

"Excuse me, I have to use the loo." Nina spoke while placing her napkin on the table. She was on the inside of the booth next to Val. Val stood and Nina had gotten out of the booth. They caught eyes for a split second. Nina walked off towards the bathroom.

"Excuse me as well." Val spoke to Jane and Maura.

"This is better than I had expected. Who knew Val could have some down to earth friends." Jane spoke into Maura's ear.

"Nina is very nice." Maura responded.

"You don't like her." Jane dared.

"Jane." Her voice whined slightly. "No, I, I think she's great. Not what I had expected." She continued.

"Just admit it Maura. You don't like her because she likes beer." Jane teased while poking Maura in her stomach slightly with her fingertips.

"I had started drinking beer because of YOU. Besides, you drink enough for the both of us." 

"Well, you can always have a taste. That is, if you ever kiss me again." Jane smirked suggestively. The two women locked eyes. Jane's hand had moved to Maura's thigh. The doctor's eyes glanced down at Jane's hand. She exhaled loudly. Maura placed her hand on top of Jane's removing it.

"This is neither the time nor place. I have to use the ladies room as well." Maura answered.

Jane scooted out of the booth to let Maura by.

Maura walked towards the back of the restaurant to the bathroom. She opened the door to see Val standing behind Nina, kissing her neck.

"You were completely right. They are definitely in love with each other." Nina spoke nearly in a whisper. Neither woman had noticed Maura had walked in.

Maura cleared her throat. Both women jumped.

"Maura." Val said in shock.

"I don't think Val had mentioned that she is also my fiancé." Nina spoke to break the tension.

**A/N Hello, it's been awhile. Hope you enjoy the update.**


	13. Chapter 13

Maura neatly folded her hands in front of her standing straight on her heels.

"I'm afraid Val hasn't." Her eyes kept on Val as she spoke.

"Maura, I.." Val trailed off.

Nina still had her back turned towards Val and her neck turned to look up at her.

"Maura, Val had not maliciously led you on or anything of the sort. I mean, we both know you are incredibly fit. Jane is absolutely lush as well. Most importantly however, we know that you are both falling for each other." Nina finished.

Maura's eyes fell towards the bathroom floor before glancing up.

"I don't think I understand." Maura sounded aloof. Her eyes purposefully looking blank.

"Maura, for the past week I had observed Jane. I think it is undeniable how attracted to you she is. Even from my stance."

"For you as well, Maura. I know we have just met, and maybe my professional background helps, but I have watched the way you look at her for the past two hours."

"It would be fortunate if it were that simple, however Jane has her own agenda." Maura finally broke.

"We know." Val and Nina had answered in unison.

"Apologies in advance, but what is the interest?" Maura asked still bewildered.

Nina's smile grew enormously and Val had blushed.

"It hits close to home for both of us." Nina answered.

"I don't understand, you're both from Europe." Maura's eyes searched their faces for clarification.

Nina giggled slightly. "Oh, my."

"What Nina had meant to say is that you and Jane remind us of us." Val's accent slid through the room like silk.

"Maura, did you drive here?" Nina spoke, almost counteracting Val's accent with her own.

"No, Jane had driven me."

"Where do you live?"

"The upper North Side."

"Then that is where Val and I live. Let us give you a ride home so we can discuss further. We must hurry back. Jane will grow suspicious."

Nina held Val's hand before letting it go before the bathroom door leading her back to the booth. Jane sat quietly observing the guests around her. Her eyes glanced up and had met Nina's first then a short glance at Val's.

"I didn't realize it took three of you to pee."

"We were adjusting our make-up." Nina answered

"Beauty comes with a cost, wouldn't you say, Jane?" Val asked.

Jane nodded her head as she watched Maura walk back to the booth from the bathroom.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say." Nina chipped in. She watched Jane's eyes follow Maura.

Aaron had appeared back before all of the women with a check. Jane had asked for it while they were in the bathroom. Jane began digging in her bag. Nina placed her hand over Jane's free hand and paused her.

"My treat." She smiled.

"Oh, Nina. That's very generou-" Maura spoke.

"Hogwash. I definitely had the best time. Hadn't you seen how many glasses of wine I have had? I couldn't put a price on the company either." Nina winked at Jane.

Maura's face held a twist of emotions across them.

"Thank you." Jane's raspy voice interrupted the facial glances.

The four women paid the tab and began walking out of the restaurant. They stood in the parking lot briefly before Val spoke.

"Jane, do you live far?" Val asked.

"Just a bit in the East side."

"and Maura?"

"I live in the North side. Jane had driven me here." She answered specifically.

"Both Nina and I live in the North side. Let me drive both of you home." Val spoke.

"It's really not a problem." Jane continued defensively.

"Oh, nonsense. We don't want our 'badass' detective to not get enough rest." Nina cut in.

Maura and Jane had exchanged a glance.

"If you do not mind..." Maura finished towards Val.

Nina threw her arms around Jane for a surprise hug to say her goodbye.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Jane." Nina spoke in her ear. Her hands fell down Jane's backside sliding her card in the back of Jane's pants. Jane's eyes widened at the contact. Maura stared daggers.

Val stepped into briefly hug Jane. Reluctantly, Jane had let her. Then Jane had stared at Maura. The doctor stared back powerfully with her eyes. They both eventually smiled and Maura threw her arms around Jane's neck and kissed it secretly so Val and Nina did not notice.

"I'll call you later." Maura spoke quickly in her ear.

Eventually the three women waved goodbye to Jane as they had approached Val's car. It was a dark blue Volkswagen. Nina insisted that Maura sit in the front and her in the back. Val had started the engine of the car and navigated the stick shift on the way home as Maura had given directions to her home. They had eventually arrived and Maura had set tea on the stove to brew before pouring the cups for the women sitting on the couch quietly in the living room. Maura sat facing toward Val and Nina who had shared the couch.

"You have a beautiful home, Maura." Nina complimented.

"Thank you."

"I suppose you are waiting for us to explain the secrecy of our engagement." Val stated.

"Yes." Maura answered quickly.

Nina chuckled at her eagerness.

"Well, it had all started in our criminal justice class at Oxford. I was an out and fun loving, bisexual, uni girl." Nina started.

"And according to Nina, I was the quiet, over-analyzing 'geek' who sat too proper and did not participate in side conversation."

Nina smiled with adoration at Val as she spoke slowly. She eventually began navigating the story more often then Val.

"We were assigned a group project and I watched curiously as Val had struggled to find a partner. My friend had dropped the class and I decided to ask Val. After I had heard her accent, it dawned on me how sexy she was."

"Unfortunately, it was a different time of my life."

"Our project covered sentences of "life without parole". Needless to say our opinions had drastically differed and we began noticing that wasn't the only part that differed. Every opinion I held, Val had counter reacted it with her own response. She nearly scoffed when I had mentioned my girlfriend."

"I grew up extremely religious." Val defended herself.

"Yes, and extremely gay." Nina smirked.

"Unknowingly."

"You always stared at my chest." Nina teased.

Maura smirked at the relevance to her and Jane's relationship.

"Anyways, one night we had another heated debate. I asked her if we could hurry up and finish the project so I could meet with Amy, my girlfriend at the time, and Val rolled her eyes."

Nina paused as she sipped more of her tea.

"I asked her if she had a problem and of course she had said no. I was fed up with it. So, I outlashed. I said,

"It must be horrible."

"What is 'horrible'?"

"To know everything, except who you are."

Then Val said;

"I do not want to argue-

Then I snogged her good. I laid one right on her lips and watched her shocked expression as I up and left her dorm room. I told her to call me if she needs anymore help with the project."

"Did she?" Maura asked now, gratefully intrigued.

"No. I finished it myself." Val answered.

"We did not talk for the rest of the semester. It wasn't until after Holiday had I ran into her at a party, snogging some other girl."

Val bit her lip in embarrassment. Nina smiled with the same satisfaction she felt when she had first kissed Val.

"Eventually the two had to come up for air then I had passed Val a knowing look and raised her a cheers with my glass. Her cheeks were darker than her hair after seeing me."

"I did not understand how Nina had seen me before I had even seen me. It bothered me. I did not understand how she saw me. More months had gone by and then we both had the same history class. History repeating itself. Another group project, only this time I had asked Nina to be my partner. It took much of my charm for her to finally say yes, and it took even more of her charm to kiss me again." Val smiled while telling this part.

"A bit too much of your charm, babes. You are all charmed out." Nina responded.

"Anyways, when I had first observed you and Jane, I couldn't help but see an image of Nina and I but with a twist. So, I was intrigued." Val finished.

"I appreciate your concern, but that is completely unnecessary." Maura responded dryly.

Val sipped her tea.

"Maura, may I ask if you and Jane have expressed emotions to each other?"

"We have."

"And nothing of that?"

Maura's eyes drifted towards the light in the outside of the guest house being lit up.

"It is difficult for Jane to commit to something other than casual sex, which is contradictory to her usual heterosexual sex life."

Nina began to speak,

"Oddly enough, I can understand that. There's a part of this story that Val and I had both skimmed over. Before Val had finally addressed me again, she had a friend."

"Rachel, she was wondrous. She had helped me realize my feelings for Nina and helped gather my courage." Val finished.

"She also kissed you a couple of times too." Nina said with small bitterness in her words.

"If you are insinuating that Nina kiss Jane, you are completely out of line." Maura threatened.

"No, no, no. Oh, god no. Maura, Val and I are monogamous. That is simply out of the question. Just, just let me be Jane's friend."

"I don't think you need my permission." Maura answered.

"Maura, you realize that Jane is falling for her one true friend. Who else is she supposed to talk about this with?" Val asked.

Maura's face looked slightly shocked as she analyzed that bit of information.

"And our point has been made." Nina spoke.

"That is very generous, however, I still do not understand your concern." Maura sat bewildered.

"Help Jane help me. Truly help me. I very honestly would like to be a detective, but not if Jane continues to make me her secretary." Val spoke.

"Jane had said that you personally requested her."

"What? Cavanaugh had told me that Jane had volunteered for it!" Val exclaimed.

"I find that far from the truth. Jane did not do that. I don't know why Cavanaugh would say that." Maura answered.

"If you want Jane to truly help you, it probably does not help that you flirt so openly in front of me." She continued

Nina cast a teasing glare over at her fiancé. Val looked like she had her hand in the cookie jar.

"Unfortunately, until Jane claims your relationship to be beyond platonic, you are free to flirt with. Unless, however, you wish me to stop." Val answered.

"As much as Val was an uptight, closeted college girl, she could still clearly charm nearly anyone. It might be beneficial for Jane to take note of that." Nina responded while squeezing Val's hand.

"I am still uncomfortable with the idea of manipulating Jane." Maura responded.

"Is it manipulating Jane though? As I see it, I am becoming Jane's friend, which I would like to do regardless, and Val will openly flirt with you. Which I'm sure she will do anyways." Nina pinched Val's leg. "Both bound to happen anyways. Keeping our relationship quiet, which is our business anyways, might just help that situation. We are all just doing what we would do anyways, but maybe with more attention and effort."

"May I ask why you keep your relationship secret?" Maura asked. Surely, she would have heard of Val's beautiful girlfriend. Especially with the large number of men in the workplace.

"I have also failed to mention that my ex girlfriend is the woman who landed me this job here as well as who helps me with my cliental base. She is leaving for a new job in several months. I did not know when she helped me with this job opportunity, she was also hoping for a second shot at our old relationship. Val and I had figured it might be better to wait it out to tell everyone until she is gone. She is not very fond of Val, unfortunately."

"I see." Maura finally said.

"So?" Nina asked quizzically.

**A/N Took me long enough, huh? I'm back. How are you liking Nina and Val? I have an odd liking for Nina.**


End file.
